COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – In a pitcher's duel, the Ursinus College baseball team fell 3-1 to The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) on a chilly Thursday afternoon from Thomas Field.
 


TCNJ's starter Jackson Malouf and Ursinus' junior pitcher T.J. Snyder combined for 18 strikeouts on the day as both lefties went six plus innings in a game that took just over two hours to complete. Snyder scattered five hits, two earned runs, and eight punch outs over six innings of work. Meanwhile for the visitors, Malouf allowed five hits, two walks, and zero earned runs over seven innings of work and struck out ten batters.


 
Snyder opened the contest for Ursinus on the mound and struck out two of the first three hitters to retire TCNJ's lineup in order in the first. The Bears leadoff batter junior Will Kelley reached base to open the bottom half of the frame and advanced to second as senior Solomon Griffith slashed a base hit through the right side of the infield. Malouf settled in on the mound and retired the next three Bears at the plate and escaped the jam with a groundout to shortstop.


 
In the second inning, Snyder continued keeping the Lions offense off balance striking out the side in order. In the bottom half, Ursinus received a one-out baserunner as sophomore Peter Balos reached base and advanced to second on an error by TCNJ's third basemen. Balos was thrown out trying to steal third on the next pitch and the Lions closed out the frame with a punch-out for the final out. TCNJ netted the first run of the game in the third inning as with the bases loaded and one out, Zach Weiner reached base on a fielder's choice as Ursinus nearly turned an inning ending double play. Snyder escaped the Lions threat as third baseman Andrew Richter made a diving snag and a clean throw to first for the final out.


 
Each pitcher continued to deal over the next two innings combining for five strikeouts until the Lions netted their second run of the game in the top of the fifth inning as a base hit up the middle from Ryan Goodall gave TCNJ a 2-0 lead. In the Bears turn at the plate, Kelley reached first with two outs after a line drive base hit up the middle. The Lions ended the Bears rally as Griffith connected on a line drive out to centerfield but a diving catch from TCNJ's centerfielder ended the frame.


 
In the sixth inning, Snyder ended his outing by retiring the Lions in order and collecting a punchout to end his day. Malouf continued to pitch well in his first outing of the season, retiring the Bears in order during their half of the sixth inning.


 
Ursinus went to the bullpen in the seventh inning as senior left hander David Kratz relieved Snyder on the mound. Kratz allowed a leadoff single through the left side but settled in and recorded three straight groundouts to end the frame. With one out in the bottom half of the inning, sophomores Peter Balos and Ben Cuccolo collected back-to-back singles for the Bears, brining the go-ahead run to the plate. TCNJ's starter Malouf closed out his season debut with back-to-back outs to end the Bears threat at the plate.


 
In the eighth inning, TCNJ added an insurance run as Chris Reeder reached base via a single down the right field line and advanced to second on a pass ball by the Bears defense. Reeder came around to score on the next pitch as a single into left field gave the visitors a three-run cushion. In the bottom half of the frame, Griffith led off with a single against Lion's reliever Ethan Earley. The Lions pitcher responded with three consecutive strikeouts to end the eighth inning.


 
Sophomore pitcher Justin Simone stepped to the mound for Ursinus in the ninth inning and recorded three straight groundouts to keep the deficit at three. After a leadoff groundout for the Bears, sophomore pinch hitter Keegan Stem put Ursinus on the board as he launched his first homerun of the season down the right field line. After the next batter lifted a fly out to left field, sophomore catcher Dylan Runsdorf brough the tying run to the plate as he reached base with a single into left field. The Ursinus rally ended as Kelley grounded out to shortstop to end the game.



The Bears will return to action on Sunday as they travel to Auburndale, Florida for the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. Ursinus is scheduled to play ten games over six days and will open with a two-game series against Wentworth Institute of Technology.